Below you will find a list of relevant topics and frequently asked questions related to research and grants. Click here for a downloadable PDF of the Grant FAQs.
Fringe
Note: Fringe is not IDC (indirect costs, also known as F&A and institutional overhead.) Please see separate section for a discussion of indirect costs.
Fringe refers to benefits associated with salary (health, etc.) It is calculated using a percentage. Current fringe rates can be found here.
Important points
1) Fringe is always calculated with salary, with some limited exceptions. Please make sure the budget includes fringe, unless sponsor guidelines specify otherwise.
2) Fringe rates change according to professional, support and graduate student status. There is no fringe for undergraduates. Fringe is calculated for part-time employees.
3) Fringe rates are different for federal and non-federal sponsors. (A sponsor is the source of the funds applied to for grants, like NSF or the Mellon Foundation.)
4) Fringe rates are re-negotiated periodically, so they change over time.
Fringe Calculations
Here are some sample fringe calculations. (For calculating salary, please see “Salary” section.) Please be certain to confirm current fringe rates at the link above.
| Federal Sponsor | Non-Federal Sponsor |
| Faculty PI: $10,000
Fringe rate: 24.7% 10,000 x .247 = 2,470 Total request: $12,470 |
Faculty PI: $10,000
Fringe rate: 26.6% 10,000 x .266 = 2,660 Total request: $12,660 |
| Technician: $10,000
Fringe rate: 22.2% 10,000 x .222 = 2,220 Total request: $12,200 |
Technician: $10,000
Fringe rate: 24.1% 10,000 x .241 = 2,410 Total request: $12,410 |
| Graduate student: $10,000
Fringe rate: 8.8% 10,000 x .088 = 880 Total request: $10,880 |
Graduate student: $10,000
Fringe rate: 8.8% 10,000 x .088 = 880 Total request: $10,880 |
Fringe FAQ
Does my budget have to include fringe?
Answer: Yes, unless the sponsor disallows or limits it, which is rare (though possible.) If the sponsor allows fringe and it’s not on the budget, it will be necessary to submit a cost share request to cover the fringe with another source of funds. Cost share requests require approval from the department, college and Vice President and Associate Provost for Research. (Please see “Cost Share” section for information about the cost share process.)
What if my sponsor disallows or limits fringe?
Answer: Though the standard process is to allow full fringe for salary, there are a limited number of exceptions. Please review sponsor guidelines for any restrictions. In cases where fringe is limited or not covered by the sponsor, the difference should be automatically covered by BU for university employees. (It is not considered cost share in these cases.) If full fringe is not an allowable expense, please be sure to provide documentation of the sponsor’s fringe policy for internal proposal review.
Do I need to add IDC (indirect costs) in addition to fringe?
Answer: IDC and fringe are separate expenses. Please calculate both in accordance with BU and sponsor policies. See separate “IDC” section for more information about indirect costs.
Who doesn’t get fringe? Who does?
Answer: No fringe is calculated for undergraduates, foreign nationals working overseas and outside consultants.
Please include fringe for everyone else, including part-time staff. For questions, please reach out to departmental financial staff or Sponsored Programs.
Why is fringe charged for part-time staff?
Answer: BU policy requires fringe to be charged for all BU staff, regardless of employment status.
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Click here for an overview of the CAS internal review process, including deadlines and forms.
Click here for an overview of the grants life cycle from BU Research Support, including deadlines, forms and budget information.
Salary
Important Points
1) Be sure to confirm who is on a nine-month vs. twelve-month pay schedule.
2) Grant budgets should have a 3% annual increase for all salaried employees. This includes year 1 of the grant, if it begins after the next date of salary increase.
3) Annual increases go into effect as of September 1st for faculty and graduate students, and January 1st for other employees, unless otherwise directed by departmental financial staff. (Postdoc salary increases align with their appointment start date.) Faculty and employees become eligible for annual increases after one year of employment.
4) Be sure to calculate fringe with all salary requests.
5) Exact salary should always be confirmed with departmental financial staff to ensure accuracy.
6) Nine-month faculty should always indicate whether time will be assigned to academic or summer months.
7) Please see “Salary and the NIH Cap” section if applying to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Calculating Salary
Salary calculations are based on time commitment plus associated fringe. It is important to remember that many faculty use nine-month pay schedules that cover the academic year (September-May.) Other employees, including research faculty, graduate students and postdocs, are on twelve-month schedules. This means that salary for nine-month faculty is calculated as a portion of nine academic months. This remains the case even when a faculty member receives a nine-month salary distributed over the course of twelve months. Salary for other staff and students is calculated on a twelve-month basis.
Faculty on a nine-month schedule frequently request funding for summer months (June-August.) Summer time is calculated in accordance with the nine-month schedule, so the numbers remain the same, regardless of the time of year.
Sample calculations:
Nine-month faculty annual salary: $90,000
1 month: 90,000 divided by 9 = $10,000
Twelve-month staff annual salary: $90,000
1 month: 90,000 divided by 12 = $7,500
Please remember to calculate fringe and add that to the salary. See “Fringe” section for further discussion.
Please remember to add a 3% annual increase for all budget years for everyone receiving salary through the grant, including postdocs and graduate students. Faculty salaries and graduate student stipends increase as of September 1st each year. Be sure to increase projected salary by 3% for the grant’s first year, if it will begin after the next September 1st. Please see departmental financial staff to determine when salaries for other employees will increase. For staff, it is typically January 1st.
Sample calculations for 3% increase:
Year 1 Salary: $10,000 or $7,500
$10,000 x 1.03 = $10,300
$7,500 x 1.03 = $7,725
Year 2 salary requests should be $10,300 and $7,725, plus associated fringe.
Salary FAQ
What about NIH’s salary cap?
Answer: Please see “Salary and the NIH Cap” section that deals with that information.
What if a sponsor won’t fund or otherwise limits salary?
Answer: Please complete the budget in accordance with the sponsor’s guidelines. Be sure to provide documentation of the sponsor’s policy for internal proposal review. Salary should be automatically covered for regular full-time staff and faculty. This would not count as cost share. For questions, please reach out to the CAS Proposal Development Specialist or Sponsored Programs.
Is there a minimum salary for postdocs and graduate students?
Answer: The CAS Graduate Office sets the minimum amount annually for graduate students, but each department determines the final number. Departmental financial staff should have this information. Though the stipend amounts vary by department, the fringe percentage remains the same.
BU sets minimum salary requirements for postdocs. Please see the Office of Professional Development and Postdoctoral Affairs for questions regarding postdoc salary.
Is the 3% annual increase mandatory?
Answer: It’s standard BU policy to include a 3% annual increase for all salaried employees. It is not mandatory, but time commitment will be altered post award to correlate budget numbers with commitment levels, if necessary. It is also possible to use other percentages, like 2.5%. Please be aware that graduate stipends increase each year. For more information about CAS graduate stipends, please contact the Department Administrator for the appropriate department or the CAS Graduate School.
Who has salary information?
Answer: Departmental financial staff have salary information for people within their department. Salary for people outside each department can be obtained by contacting the appropriate Department Administrator.
What about tenure?
Answer: For grant budgeting purposes, please assume that anyone up for tenure review will successfully complete it. This means budgeting a 13% increase (10% tenure increase + 3% annual increase) for September 1st after a tenure review has been completed. For example, someone scheduled for tenure review during the 2018/2019 academic year should budget for a 13% increase that goes into effect on September 1, 2019. For CAS, tenure review schedules can be confirmed with Faculty Actions or the CAS Proposal Development Specialist.
Please keep in mind that an explanation for an extra 10% salary increase should be included in the budget justification portion of a grant proposal.
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Click here for an overview of the CAS internal review process, including deadlines and forms.
Click here for an overview of the grants lifecycle from Sponsored Programs (OSP), including deadlines, forms and budget information.
Salary and the NIH Cap
NIH (the National Institutes of Health) has a maximum salary cap that’s calculated over twelve months (not nine.) If applying to NIH, you cannot request more than the maximum salary and proportional time components. Please be certain to confirm the current cap with the CAS Proposal Development Specialist, Sponsored Programs or departmental grants staff.
Important Points:
1) NIH’s cap is on a twelve-month basis.
2) Be sure to convert nine-month salaries to their twelve-month equivalents to determine who is over the cap.
3) The cap is proportional, so the maximum amount that can be requested fluctuates according to time commitment level. Please see “What to do if Over the Cap” below for more information.
4) Please remember to calculate and add fringe to all salary requests, including those impacted by the salary cap. See the “Fringe” section for more information.
How to Determine if a Salary is Over the Cap
Since the cap is calculated on a twelve-month schedule, twelve-month salaries can be compared directly.
1) Sample comparison for twelve-month pay schedule:
Annual salary for first year of grant: $187,000
Example NIH cap: $187,000
Conclusion: Full salary can be requested for year 1. However, annual increases would push the salary over the cap beginning year 2. This means that only the NIH cap can be requested in year 2 and in subsequent years.
2) Sample comparison for nine-month pay schedule:
In order to determine if a nine-month salary is over the cap, it is necessary to convert it to a twelve-month equivalent using the method below
Determine monthly salary:
Nine-month salary: $135,000
Divided by nine = $15,000
This means that one month’s salary is equal to $15,000.
Multiply one month by three:
$15,000 x 3 = $45,000
Add this number to the original nine-month salary:
$45,000 + $135,000 = $180,000.
In this case, $180,000 is the twelve-month equivalent of a nine-month salary of $135,000. Since this number is below cap, it is possible to request full salary.
Please keep in mind that salaries should be calculated with a 3% annual increase. Doing so here would mean that a salary of $180,000 would be $185,400 in year 2 (still below cap), but $190,962 in year 3 (over cap.) That means that only the NIH cap can be requested for year 3 and all subsequent years.
Please remember to calculate fringe for all salaries, including those impacted by the cap.
What to do if Over the Cap
The easiest way to understand the process is to break down NIH’s cap into its monthly equivalent. This is done by dividing the cap by twelve (for twelve months.) In this case, $187,000/12 is $15,583 per month. If you’re requesting one month’s salary, that is the maximum that can be requested.
Please keep in mind that the cap is proportional. That means if you’re requesting a half month’s salary, you can only request up to one half of NIH’s capped month. In this case, this would mean $7,792 ($15,583 divided by two.) A quarter month would be $3,898 ($15,583 divided by four.) This applies even if the actual salary request is less than $15,583 per month. The same approach applies to time commitments that are greater than a month. For instance, a month and a half of time is $23,375 (15,583 x 1.5) and so on.
Please keep in mind that the 3% annual increase does not apply to the NIH cap. It’s not possible to request more than the capped amount for the duration of the grant, but be sure to include fringe.
Salary Cap FAQ
A half month of my salary is $15,000, which is below NIH’s monthly cap. Can I request $15,000 for a half month of my time?
Answer: No, the maximum amount that can be requested is $7,792 which is one half of NIH’s current monthly cap. The same process applies to all time commitment levels.
Does anyone pay the difference between actual salary and NIH’s cap?
Answer: The difference is automatically covered by BU during the academic year for nine-month faculty. The difference is automatically covered all year for twelve- month faculty and employees. During the summer, BU does NOT automatically cover the difference for nine-month faculty. Faculty seeking to make up the summer shortfall can discuss cost share options with their department or forgo the additional amount. Please see the “Cost Share” section for more information about BU’s cost share process.
It is not necessary to submit a cost share request when BU automatically covers the over-cap amount. However, it is necessary to submit a cost share request if university funds will be used to cover over-cap summer salary and this is not part of a previously approved commitment.
What happens if NIH increases its cap?
Answer: NIH periodically increases the salary cap. For proposals under development and not yet submitted, please use the increased number. For proposals that have been submitted (either under review or approved), as well as ongoing grants, no additional funds will be provided by NIH to cover the newly-allowable salary expenses. However, it is allowable, but not mandatory, to move funds within the existing budget to provide additional salary support. If moving funds, please be sure to follow BU and sponsor guidelines for re-budgeting.
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Click here for an overview of the CAS internal review process, including deadlines and forms.
Click here for an overview of the grants lifecycle from Sponsored Programs (OSP), including deadlines, forms and budget information.
IDC/F&A/Institutional Overhead
IDC is indirect costs. It’s also known as F&A (Facilities & Administration) and institutional overhead. These terms are used interchangeably. IDC is not fringe. Please see separate sections for discussions of fringe and salary. IDC refers to expenses related to grant projects, but aren’t specified on the budget, such as space maintenance and support for financial staff. In contrast, direct costs are expenses charged directly to a grant, such as salary and travel. IDC is calculated as a percentage of direct costs.
Current IDC rates can be found here.
Important Points
1) IDC is calculated as a percentage of direct costs, though not all direct costs are included in IDC calculations. Be sure to check with Sponsored Programs and sponsor guidelines for exclusions.
2) IDC is always calculated at full rate, unless sponsor guidelines dictate otherwise or an F&A waiver is submitted for approval.
3) IDC rates are assigned depending on a few different factors. Please see “Indirect Cost Rates” section below for further information.
4) IDC rates are periodically re-negotiated and can change over time.
5) It is possible to request an IDC reduction or waiver, which is referred to as an F&A waiver. These requests need approval from the department, college and Vice President and Associate Provost for Research. Please add additional time for internal paperwork review if making this request.
6) If a sponsor limits or disallows IDC, it is NOT necessary to request an F&A waiver, as long as the grant budget adheres to sponsor guidelines. F&A waivers are only for situations where less IDC is requested than what is allowed by the sponsor.
Indirect Cost Rates
IDC rates are determined on the basis of two factors: activity type and location of project activities. There are three different activity types: research, instruction and other. Project location is classified as either on or off campus. This is determined by where the majority of effort will take place—either within a BU facility or outside of it.
If uncertain which IDC rate applies to your project, please contact the CAS Proposal Development Specialist or Sponsored Programs.
Calculating IDC
In order to calculate IDC, it’s necessary first to calculate direct costs. Direct costs refer to all the expenses directly charged to a grant, such as salary, equipment and travel. The table below lists direct costs for a sample grant.
| PI salary | 1 summer month | $10,000 | |
| PI fringe | 24.7% | $2,470 | (Be sure to use current fringe rates.) |
| Travel | Domestic | $3,000 | |
| Supplies | $1,000 |
Total request $16,470
In the example above, total direct costs are $16,470.
For an on-campus research grant (start date 7/1/18) with a sponsor that allows full IDC, the appropriate IDC rate to use would be 65% for IDC calculations.
16,470 x .65 = 10,706
The amount should be added to direct costs to obtain total costs.
16,470 + 10,705 = 27,176
The full budget request for the sponsor is $27,176.
MTDC (IDC Exclusions)
Not all direct costs are eligible to be included in indirect cost calculations. MTDC (modified total direct costs) captures the eligible costs with the ineligible costs subtracted out. Ineligible costs for federal grants include: capital equipment that is $5,000 or more, participant support costs, and costs of subcontracts that are over $25,000. Please check sponsor guidelines for any additional exclusions.
The following is a sample budget that includes an ineligible cost—a $10,000 capital equipment purchase.
| PI salary | 1 summer month | $10,000 | |
| Graduate student | 12 calendar months | $33,000 | (See departmental staff for current stipend rates.) |
| PI fringe | 24.7% | $2,470 | (Be sure to use current fringe rates.) |
| Student fringe | 8.8% | $2,904 | |
| Equipment | Computer | $10,000 | |
| Travel | Domestic | $3,000 | |
| Publication | $1,000 | ||
| Total direct costs | $62,374 | ||
| MTDC | $52,374 | ||
| IDC at 65% | $34,043 | (Calculated using MTDC line) | |
| Total costs | $96,417 |
In this case, direct costs are equal to $62,374. Indirect costs are calculated as a percentage of all eligible direct costs. Capital equipment that costs $5,000 or more is not included in indirect cost calculations. Therefore, the $10,000 computer expense needs to be subtracted out from direct costs, which is represented in the MTDC field. MTDC represents all costs eligible to be included in an IDC calculation, so IDC should be based off of this number. In this case: 52,374 x .65 = 34,043
For subcontracts, only the initial $25,000 (direct and indirect costs together) count towards MTDC. Above $25,000, subcontract expenses are subtracted from MTDC. In the following example, a budget includes a $75,000 subcontract. MTDC is $50,000 less than total direct costs because only $25,000 is included in IDC calculations. The remaining $50,000 has been subtracted out.
| PI salary | 1 summer month | $10,000 | ||||
| Graduate student | 12 calendar months | $33,000 | (See departmental staff for current stipend rates.) | |||
| PI fringe | 24.7% | $2,470 | (Be sure to use current fringe rates.) | |||
| Student fringe | 8.8% | $2,904 | ||||
| Subcontract | Other University | $75,000 | ||||
|
Total Direct Costs |
$123,374 | |||||
| MTDC | $73,374 | ($50,000 subtracted out) | ||||
| IDC at 65% | $47,693 | (Calculated using MTDC line) | ||||
| Total costs | $171,067 | |||||
IDC FAQ
My sponsor does not allow IDC/limits IDC. Can I still submit a proposal?
Answer: Please feel free to apply to grant opportunities regardless of the sponsor’s IDC policy. Be sure to include documentation of the sponsor’s IDC policy for internal review purposes.
Do I need to submit an F&A waiver request if my sponsor disallows or limits IDC?
Answer: No, it is not necessary to submit an F&A waiver request if the budget adheres to sponsor policy. However, it is necessary to provide documentation of the sponsor’s IDC policy for internal review purposes.
When should I submit an F&A waiver request?
Answer: An F&A waiver (or reduction) request is necessary when you are requesting less IDC than what the sponsor allows. For example, if the sponsor allows full IDC and you want to use a lower rate, that request would be made via an F&A waiver. F&A waiver requests require approval from the department, college and Vice President and Associate Provost For Research. Please be sure to leave extra time for review if your proposal includes an F&A waiver request. It would also be helpful to have an alternate budget plan identified if the request is denied.
How likely is it for an F&A waiver request to be approved?
Answer: A determination is made on a case-by-case basis. It would be helpful to have an alternate budget plan identified if the request is denied. If you have questions about a specific F&A waiver request, please reach out to the office of the Vice President and Associate Provost For Research.
Do I have to include IDC on the budget?
Answer: Yes, unless it is disallowed or limited by the sponsor. Please confirm the sponsor’s IDC policy if it is not specified. If IDC is limited or disallowed, please provide a copy of or link to the sponsor’s IDC policy for internal review.
Is IDC important?
Answer: Yes, IDC is a major source of financial support for BU.
What happens if an IDC rate changes in the middle of a grant year?
Answer: If that happens, divide total direct costs by twelve to get a monthly average. Then multiply the average by the number of months at each respective IDC rate.
Example:
a) Assume an IDC change as of July 1 from 64.5% to 65%
b) Assume a grant’s project year runs from March 1st to February 28th
c) For the year in question, that means four months (March-June) will be charged at 64.5% and eight months (July-February) will be charged at 65%
Total direct costs for year: $144,000
Divided by twelve: $12,000 monthly average
12,000 x 4 = 48,000
48,000 x .645 = 30,960
12,000 x 8 = 96,000
96,000 x .65 = 62,400
30,960 + 62,400 = 93,360
The IDC for that year is $93,360.
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Click here for an overview of the CAS internal review process, including deadlines and forms.
Click here for an overview of the grants lifecycle from Sponsored Programs (OSP), including deadlines, forms and budget information.
Approvals and Deadlines for Proposal Submission
At a minimum, it is necessary to obtain departmental, CAS and institutional approval for grant submission. Departmental approval is provided by the department’s Chair and/or Center Director or both, whichever is appropriate. Associate Deans of the Faculty provide CAS approval, which is a mandatory part of the internal review process. For a summary of the CAS process, including forms and deadlines, please see
https://www.bu.edu/cas/faculty-staff/faculty-staff-handbook/research/
Institutional approval is obtained from Sponsored Programs (OSP.) Please reach out to your department’s OSP contact for more information about the process.
OSP’s contact list can be found here: http://www.bu.edu/researchsupport/contact/departmental-contacts/
OSP’s deadline policy can be found here:
http://www.bu.edu/researchsupport/project-lifecycle/proposal-review-and-submission/
There could be additional approvals, in addition to the ones specified above. Please be sure to leave sufficient time to obtain all necessary signatures.
Approvals and Deadlines FAQ
What are the deadlines for internal grant approval?
Answer: Please see deadlines at the links above.
Do all grants need to go through the internal review process? What if it’s for only a small amount? What if it’s for graduate student support and not a major project?
Answer: Yes, all grants need internal review and approval prior to submission regardless of amount requested, size of project or purpose.
What about fellowships?
Answer: Fellowships generally have a different financial arrangement and usually do not require internal review and approval. The difference can be discerned by understanding who has the financial relationship with the sponsor. If the sponsor has a direct financial relationship with the PI and not BU (i.e. the PI gets the check), then it is not necessary to obtain internal approval. The vast majority of fellowships follow this structure. Please review sponsor guidelines for their policy.
Who submits proposals for sponsor review?
Answer: Either OSP or the PI may submit completed proposals, depending on sponsor requirements. Submissions that require electronic submission from an institutional representative will be submitted by OSP. Submissions in hard copy will be handled by the PI or department. Please note that internal review and approval is needed in either case. Click here for an overview of OSP’s submission process.
Do CAS Associate Deans need 100% finalized documents for approval?
Answer: No, CAS Associate Deans do not require final documents for approval. However, documents should be close enough to completion to allow for an accurate assessment of the project and its requirements.
If changes are made after CAS approval, do I need to share the revised documents with the Associate Deans?
Answer: No, it is not necessary to provide updated documents, provided that a) there have not been significant changes in scope or budget, or b) there have been no changes requiring CAS approval that weren’t requested in the original package, such as adding a cost share request, for example. Your OSP contact should be able to provide guidance on whether or not to seek additional approvals. You may also reach out to the CAS Proposal Development Specialist for questions.
What documents need CAS approval?
Answer:
- Proposal Summary Form (PSF) for grant submissions and transfers
- Institutional Prior Approval Form (IPAR) for no cost extensions, pre-award requests, and rebudgeting
- PI status requests
- Inter-personnel Agreements (IPA)
In all cases, there are signature lines indicating who should sign and where. Please note that cost share requests and F&A waivers are handled via the PSF. For questions about CAS approvals, please contact the CAS Proposal Development Specialist.
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Click here for an overview of the CAS internal review process, including deadlines and forms.
Click here for an overview of the grants lifecycle from Sponsored Programs (OSP), including deadlines, forms and budget information.
Compliance
Compliance refers to BU’s responsibility to ensure that research is conducted legally, ethically and safely. For the full list of policies and procedures, forms and training opportunities, please see: http://www.bu.edu/researchsupport/compliance/
Important Point
BU requires all PI’s and co-PI’s to submit financial conflict of interest (COI) information for each grant proposal. This is preferably done on-line, but there are PDF versions available, if needed. Information about the COI process, including forms, can be found here.
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Click here for an overview of the CAS internal review process, including deadlines and forms.
Click here for an overview of the grants lifecycle from Sponsored Programs (OSP), including deadlines, forms and budget information.
PI Status
PI stands for “principal investigator” and refers to the person who is the overall director of grant activities. No one without PI status can apply for a grant through BU. In addition to the PI, there can also be co-PI’s and co-I’s (co-investigators). Co-PI’s must have PI status to serve as co-PI’s on grants. It is not necessary for co-I’s to have PI status.
Most faculty have automatic PI status, meaning it is not necessary to apply for PI status to submit a proposal. (Please see question #1 below for further discussion of automatic PI status.) However, not everyone has automatic PI status. Those that do not can apply for PI status for a specific project or a set span of years. PI status requests require approval from the department, college and Vice President and Associate Provost for Research. Please be sure to add additional time for internal review when submitting a proposal with a PI status request.
Please keep in mind that newly-hired faculty whose appointments have not begun, but will have automatic PI status when they start, still need to submit a PI status request if submitting proposals or grant transfer paperwork in advance of the appointment start date.
For BU’s PI status policy, including PI status request form, please see:
http://www.bu.edu/researchsupport/forms-policies/policy-on-principal-investigator-pi-status/
PI Status FAQ
Who has automatic PI status?
Answer: The following have automatic PI status and do not need to submit PI status requests to serve as PI or co-PI on a grant: Faculty with the title of Professor (Assistant, Associate, Full), Clinical Professor (Assistant, Associate, Full), and Research Professor (Assistant, Associate, Full). Please be aware that Emeritus Professors and Professors of the Practice do not have automatic PI status.
Other positions may be eligible to apply for PI status. Please see BU’s PI status policy at the link above. For questions, please reach out to the CAS Proposal Development Specialist or office of the Vice President and Associate Provost for Research.
Do I need to submit a PI status request to serve as co-PI?
Answer: If you do not have current PI status, it will be necessary to submit a PI status request to serve as co-PI on a grant. It is not necessary to have PI status to serve as co-I (co-investigator.)
Can graduate students and postdocs serve as PI’s or co-PI’s on training grants and fellowships?
Answer: It is possible for graduate students and postdocs to serve as PI’s or co-PI’s on many training grants and fellowships, provided sponsor guidelines allow it. In these cases, a faculty mentor will need to be identified and included in proposal paperwork. It is not necessary to submit a PI status request for these types of grants. A PI status request is needed for graduate students and postdocs to serve as PI’s or co-PI’s on any other type of grant.
I have accepted a position with automatic PI status, but I have yet to officially start. Do I need to submit a PI status request to submit grant proposals through BU and/or initiative a grant transfer, if I’m submitting paperwork prior to my start date?
Answer: A PI status request is needed if you are submitting paperwork to a sponsor prior to your official start date.
What if grant activities will begin on or after the start date?
Answer: A PI status request is still needed.
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Click here for an overview of the CAS internal review process, including deadlines and forms.
Click here for an overview of the grants lifecycle from Sponsored Programs (OSP), including deadlines, forms and budget information.
Where to Find Funding
Click here for an overview of internal and external resources.
Important Points
- COS Pivot is regarded as the most comprehensive grants database. You’ll need to register to use the site, but registration is free with a bu.edu e-mail address.
- Foundation Directory Online (FDO) is regarded as the most comprehensive resource for private (foundation) funds. Please be sure to access FDO from the link on the Foundation Relations site. (There isn’t a way to log in independently.) The link can be found here.
- Please keep in mind that proposals for some foundations are handled centrally and shouldn’t be submitted without first contacting Foundation Relations. The list of restricted foundations can be found here.
- Generally speaking, it is helpful to contact Foundation Relations before submitting a foundation proposal. BU has ongoing relationships with many foundations, so the Foundations team might be able to provide information about the sponsor, and/or provide advice about the application process. Click here to contact Foundation Relations.
- For assistance with the grants search process, please contact the CAS Proposal Development Specialist.
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Click here for an overview of the CAS internal review process, including deadlines and forms.
Click here for an overview of the grants lifecycle from Sponsored Programs (OSP), including deadlines, forms and budget information.
Cost Share
Cost share refers to a grant expense that is not charged to the grant budget. Since a sponsor does not cover that expense, some other source of funds must do so. The alternate source is said to be cost sharing the expense, since it is providing direct support for the project.
For information about IDC (indirect costs) and F&A waivers, please see the IDC section.
Click here for BU’s cost share policy, process and forms.
Important Points
- For cost share requests, it is necessary to obtain approval from the department, college and Vice President and Associate Provost for Research. Please allow additional time for proposal review.
- The NSF (National Science Foundation) does not allow cost share.
General Information
There are three different kinds of cost share: mandatory, voluntary and in-kind.
- Mandatory cost share is required by the sponsor. It’s usually expressed in the form of a ratio, such as 2:1, which means that for each two dollar increment provided by the sponsor, one dollar from other sources should be provided as match. Please be sure to read sponsor guidelines to see what kinds of match meet their requirements.
- Voluntary cost share is not required by the sponsor, but is provided on a voluntary basis. This might happen in cases where there’s a cap on total funds the sponsor will provide, but the amount is insufficient to complete a project.
- In-kind cost share refers to support that has financial value, but no funds are exchanged in order to obtain it. Examples could be supplies or space.
Cost Share FAQ
Will voluntary cost share make my proposal more competitive?
Answer: Though unlikely, there are instances where the sponsor’s program officer may indicate this is the case. If so, please include this information in cost share documentation. Otherwise, voluntary cost share is unlikely to make your proposal more competitive and is generally discouraged, though there could be exceptions, such as when a sponsor caps the total request.
Do I need to obtain cost share approval for mandatory cost share?
Answer: Yes, mandatory cost share requires official approval.
Do I need to submit a cost share request to supplement graduate student support for training grants?
Answer: Yes, training grant supplementation requires cost share approval.
How likely is it for my cost share request to be approved?
Answer: Cost share requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and need approval from the department, college and Vice President and Associate Provost for Research. For questions about cost share, please contact the CAS Proposal Development Specialist or the office of the Vice President and Associate Provost for Research. It could be helpful to have an alternate budget plan identified in case a cost share request is denied.
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Click here for an overview of the CAS internal review process, including deadlines and forms.
Click here for an overview of the grants lifecycle from Sponsored Programs (OSP), including deadlines, forms and budget information.